Cinderella
by Beaner-Bop
Summary: Ginny's mother had died and she seems to think the new people living in her house are there just to ruin her life...who will help her get out of this...mess? D/G R/R *BAD SUMMARY!*
1. What's Happening

Cinderella

Beaner-Bop

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A/N: *Grins* Draco/Ginny…again! I got the idea to write this a looooooooooong time ago, well…a couple months anyway from the movie 'Cinderella' on Bravo and sort of mixed it around with ideas from 'Ever After' {**A/U**!!!! Do not expect it to always follow JK's plot!!!}… but I just got the time to actually write it now…

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Distribution: FF.Net and to people who ask all nice and stuff…

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Disclaimer: JK owns all!

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Chapter One: What's Happening

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Ginny tried to wipe the tears away on her face but it was useless. The rain pelted on her and trying to wipe tears from her face was impossible because the rain seemed to join it all the more. Ginny let herself look to the ground and begin to sob loudly again. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Percy staring at her sadly. He opened his arms and she rushed into them crying her heart out.

Just moments ago, the buried her mother in the ground and she was joined by close family and friends to say good bye one final time.

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A total of five months had passed. Ginny was now fifteen and getting ready for her fifth year at Hogwarts. She packed a few more robes into the 'wooden thing' and then decided that she was ready for her new year.

Ginny pulled out her locket and opened the small circles latch. Inside was a picture of her mother. She held it to herself tightly and held in a sob, promising that she wouldn't cry.

She reached under her bed blindly and grabbed her diary. She started it right after her mother died, wanting to give up her feel of journals and knowing that no one else could really understand what she was feeling except herself.

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I'm thinking about mum again and I want to cry so hard! Life seemed so easy when mum was alive! More than just two people living under the roof-

Harry and Ron had gotten an apartment a few months back, saying stuff like 'just needing to get away' and what not.

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and everyone was happy! Now it's just me and dad and nothing. No mum. None. Gah, I must sound insane to you but oh! I miss mum so much… why did she have to get sick? Why? And why won't anybody help me?!

Ginny felt herself getting to angry so she quickly tried to find another topic to write about.

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The Malfoy's seem to be coming to power even more than usual. What is so strange about that to me? Maybe the fact that the ministry should be trying to push them back down. Can you believe that that idiot my father has for a boss is actually giving the Malfoy's even more power? And you want to know why? He wants the Malfoy's to FUND some freaking attacks for him! Can you believe that! There's like this HUGE blazing sign that says 'MALFOY'S ARE FOLLOWER'S OF VOLDOMORT' and that sorry excuse for a minister is IGNORING IT!! Gah! 

Ginny looked up from her writing. All of her aggression was coming out of her and this time at a safe target. She had to stop however when her father began to call her down.

"Coming dad!" She yelled down. Silently she wondered, as she closed her journal and re-hid it under her bed, what it was that her father wanted.

He went quiet after her mother's death, much like her. To nearly everyone's shock after two months he began _dating_ again. Ginny was having a hard time with the fact that her father was dating, and so _soon_ after her mother's death, but she said nothing, thinking that if he was happy, she was happy.

When she was finally all the way downstairs her eyes fell upon a nicely dressed woman. Ginny nodded her head at her politely with a quiet 'hello' and then she looked to her father.

"Ginny, this is Haley. Haley, my daughter, Ginny." The woman got up from her seat at the table and walked over to Ginny and hugged her tightly.

"I am _so_ sorry to hear about your mother sweety!" Ginny noticed she had a bit of an accent on her, but she couldn't quite place it. She hugged her back politely with a 'Thank you.' Then turned to look at her father.

"Ginny…Haley…came here to help me break the news to you." Ginny cocked an eyebrow at him.

"What news dad?" Her father sucked in a breath and let it out slowly.

"Haley and her daughters will be moving in with us." Ginny blinked and the next thing she new she was falling and then a thud and darkness.

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When Ginny opened her eyes she didn't recognize her surroundings. Everything around her was white except for the curtains by her bed which were a dead blue color. She got up slowly and her father rushed in immidiately.

"Are you okay sweety? When I told you about Haley and me I thought that-" Ginny put her hand up and looked her father straight in the eye.

"Dad, what is your relationship with Haley?"

"Strictly platonic if that's what you're asking. She and her daughters needed a place to stay and we have the extra room and well…" he looked at Ginny and tried his best at a smile. "You need a female role model." Ginny gave back his smile and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"I love you daddy." He hugged her back with a 'I love you' and left the room to let her rest.

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A/N: I know its short but my fingers hurt and I'm out of ideas so…laterz!

Beaner-Bop


	2. New Roommates

Cinderella

Beaner-Bop

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Chapter Two: New Roommates

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Ginny wasn't jumping up and down excited or feeling depressed when three days later it was time for her new 'roomies' to come. Her father and Haley had been very vague with descriptions with what they were like. In all honestly, Ginny didn't care. As long as they stayed out of her way, she'd stay out of theirs.

She was currently downstairs and itching her shoulder from the new, yet rough, material on her shoulder. She glanced down at herself in disgust. The dress she was wearing was all green with white flowers here and there and she was just walking around in socks, not usually wearing shoes around her house.

Ginny looked up suddenly when she heard the sound of feet in the fireplace. She rushed over to it quickly and waited for whoever was under it to come out. A small sneeze came from the fireplace before the girl came out. Ginny looked at the girl and sighed, hoping that she wouldn't end up being like all the other girl's at Hogwarts who looked nearly exactly like her. Smooth skin, light colored hair… Ginny had to keep herself from snorting, remembering her promise to her father that she would be nice to the girls. The girl's face, though nice, went into a look of disgust when she saw Ginny. She looked at her slowly, from toe to head before giving her a nasty look and turning her back to her with a thrown out and sarcastic, "Lovely."

Ginny had to keep her anger restrained, luckily another soft 'plop' in the fireplace told Ginny that the other girl had arrived. When she helped the girl out of the fireplace, Ginny couldn't help shake off the feeling that something was off about her, which was strange because she had never met the girl before.

Ginny could tell right away that this girl would be easier to get along with. She didn't look at Ginny's clothes first thing or judge her quickly. She just looked at Ginny with a shy smile and waited silently for Ginny to show them whatever was supposed to be next…

Ginny came out of the odd little world she was in when the blond girl, the other girl had brown hair and was a little heavier than the blond, but still pretty in her own right, cleared her throat.

"Well, _Ginny?_" She said it in a mean voice that once again had Ginny holding her fist back to make sure she didn't do anything that would harm the girl. It was also said in an accent so it sounded like this, "Jenna?" But Ginny wondered if she said it like that on purpose or if it was beyond her control. Ginny took a breath before speaking, hoping that none of her anger at the blond girl showed through.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know which one of you is Linette and which is Carminda." Ginny looked to the dark haired girl when she began to speak. She was about to say 'please speak up.' But the blond beat her.

"For heaven's sake Caramel! Grow a damn backbone and grow up!" The dark haired girl blushed heavily from the embarrassment her sister caused her before looking back to Ginny.

"I-I'm Carminda…" She said quietly, but this time she could hear her. "But if you'd like to call me something else, that's okay." Ginny smiled as she nodded at the girl. She turned to face Linette.

"Well, where are we sleeping?" Ginny rolled her eyes as she went to the kitchen and began to walk of the steps. She heard a slight 'eew.' From Linette but apparently got a seal of approval from Carminda. The girl was looking at all the pictures and plants that were around the kitchen, making it feel all nice and homey, just the way Ginny liked it. Apparently though, Linette didn't agree with this philosophy with a quick 'Cheap' thrown into the air. Rolling her eyes she was about to open the door to the upstairs when a slight scream. She turned to face Linette and resisted the urge to say 'What is it now?' with instead 'What's wrong?'

The blond girl looked up at her and glared.

"Are you trying to _kill_ me?" She pointed to the metal stairs Ginny was currently standing on. "I put one step on there and I'll die from fear!" Ginny couldn't resist the slight snort that came out along with the thoughts of _good riddance._

"I'm terribly sorry, _Linette_, but it seems you have no choice, unless of course," She waved into the living room where an old ratty couch stood. They were going to throw it out today and get a new one but Ginny decided not to tell the girl that little fact. She turned back to the stairs and finally opened the door. She saw Carminda silently waiting for Linette to go in front of her and she wondered why the girl was waiting for the blond girl. Did she have to follow the girl everywhere?

She pointed to the first door on the left.

"This is my room. If you need anything feel free to knock." _Not that that means I'll answer…_

She walked past a few more doors and opened up another door. "This is one of the rooms you could have and the other one," She pointed right across the hall from the one they were at. "Is right there. I'll leave you ladies alone to sort whatever you need out. I just heard the clock downstairs so I believe that my dad and your mother are here. I'm going to go and help them. Bye!"

She rolled her eyes as she heard Linette start her rants on how terrible the rooms were. She didn't hear anything from Carminda but she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

When she came down the stairs she saw her father holding many bags, most of them had an 'L' written in cursive on the sides.

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Gee, she thought, _I wonder who THOSE could belong to…_

"Ginny, would you be daddy's little helper and," a soft oomph came from his lips as he tried to pick up some more of Linette's bags, "take some of these bags up to Linette?" Ginny stopped herself from groaning but grabbed some bags anyway before going back upstairs.

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Draco was currently wondering if he ever heard anything as preposterous coming from his mother's mouth.

"Draco, are you even listening to me?!" She asked, glaring at her son. Draco looked at his mother with a look of disgust.

"I heard every word you said, and you have got to be kidding." Narcissa crossed her arms over her chest, showing him that she indeed wasn't. Draco rolled his eyes.

"Would you like me to summarize it? Can I get an A if I do a good job?" Narcissa glared at her son even more.

"Yes, please re-tell me what I just said, I'm sure I'll die of shock if you get everything." After rolling his eyes again he began to speak.

"You heard father talking to the dark lord the other day. Apparently Voldemort plans on giving me his empire after he's dead because I'm supposedly one of his strongest and youngest supporters. Because of this he wants to make sure that his legacy," He rolled his eyes again, "goes on. Thus meaning that by my eighteenth birthday I need to have a bride." He snorted. "This sounds like some fairy tale on crack."

"Draco!" He looked at her waiting for her to go on. She sighed heavily instead, however, before speaking. "Draco, you seventeenth birth day is seven months away. You have little over a year and a half to get a bride-"

"What happens if I don't get a bride? Or take on his legacy then? He kills me?" Draco looked at his mother expectantly.  
"That won't happen to you." She said bitterly, Draco looked back up to her confused.

"What…?" Narcissa shook her head sadly to her son.

"If your father thought for a second that you wouldn't go along with anything He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has planned for you, you'd be under the imperious curse in a second. Hell, even if you can fight it, it wouldn't help you much because there are other things that he could make you agree with. Special potions and such." She shook her head again. "You're one of the lucky ones Draco." He snorted.

"If you can even call that lucky."

"My thoughts exactly."

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A/N: Whew…done with a chapter. I was worried that I wouldn't get this one out -.-;;


	3. Dealing With It

Cinderella

Beaner-Bop

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Disclaimer: Still a big fat 'no'.

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Chapter Three: Dealing with It

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Draco flopped on his bed and stared at the ceiling for a few moments before reaching under his mattress and grabbing a small book out from under it. It was bound with black leather and in gold writing, the word 'Thoughts' was engraved in old English on the front cover. He began to whistle lightly under his breath as he grabbed a quill from beside the small desk that was by the bed and lightly dipped it into the ink before writing.

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Father's a complete idiot. Of course that's already a known fact in this isn't it?

He whistled lightly again not really able to help it. It was a habit he got into when he was younger when everything got to quiet for his tastes which was actually quite a lot back then.

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I'm supposed to be married when I'm eighteen. _Who the bloody hell marries at eighteen anymore? Besides those teenagers who get each other pregnant. Gah…_

How can I get out of this?

Writing always helped him. He could just write his thoughts down and then his head wouldn't have to hold them anymore. At least, that's how he likes to think of it. He tipped his quill into the ink again before writing again.

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Father has probably already covered everything to make sure there's no escape… _What to do? What to do?_

He stopped writing for a moment, trying to get ideas to come to him, some way to get him away from his terrible 'fate'. He kept writing though no ideas came to him.

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Why the hell would he want me to take over his empire anyway? Isn't he trying to become immortal or something? _Good thing from all of this - if he's trying to find an 'heir' that means he won't be around forever! …I'd say 'yippee' but…_

He clicked his tongue lightly, another habit that he wasn't to aware of because usually when he did it he was concentrating on something to hard to notice. He re-read what he wrote before going back to his paper.

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Why does HWMNBN (he has to shorten that) want me to be his heir anyway? I mean, why not that one guy, Crouch or something? Isn't he the one true supporter or something? He tapped the feather of his quill on his forehead lightly.

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Why DOES he want it to be me? There's got to be tons of people just flinging them at him, hoping to get the job. Why the hell does he want me to have it? He thought about the last thought for a moment, making him pause in his writings.

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Why does he think I'll do it, anyway? Besides, I have better things to do with my time… I don't know what they ARE…but that's just a little problem.

He read the last few lines before throwing the quill onto the table and putting the book back under his bed. He rolled his eyes and flopped his head back down onto the pillows wondering what the hell was wrong with him and his stupid ideas.

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Ginny held in a groan. Someone was knocking on her door, and the knocking wasn't ceasing. She grabbed her pillow and put it over her head. The knocking continued and Ginny remained quiet.

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What the hell? Why the heck won't she stop knocking? Ginny groaned and tried to sink lower into her bed. She couldn't help but roll her eyes when Linette started to talk to her through the door.

"Jenna! Get up! Why on _earth_ aren't you out of bed already? When I was living back in France (she pronounced it 'Fronce') I'd have been up already for hours and feeding the chickens!" Ginny rolled her eyes as she got out of bed. _Well good news for you Linette, we don't have any chickens._

She shut her eyes tightly before opening them again and sighing. _I hate this…_ She thought to herself silently as she crawled out of her bed. She went over to her closet, being slow from walking to it, to picking things out.

She had a feeling in her gut that told her she _really_ shouldn't have gotten out of bed today…

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Carminda looked at the floor, looking away from her pacing sister. She tried to drown out everything that Linette was saying.

"Gah, I bet that girl is going to make me work… Why is it that whenever we move somewhere new I have to work? I hope mother appreciates this! I wonder if I can go shopping this weekend, with all the work I'm going to have to do I know I deserve it." Caminda hid a snort as her sister kept pacing back and forth. Never once did she truly make her presence known to her sister, she didn't need to.

"Caramel, go get me my shoes and one of my make-up bags. I want to see if they have anyplace worth while going to." She nodded her head to Linette as she stood up slowly from her perch.

"Yes sister." She turned around quickly and went back to the room that Ginny had showed the two of them earlier. A second before she actually got to the door her sister spoke up.

"Well hurry up already Caramel. I haven't got all day you know." She nodded her head again and opened the door, taking a moment to search the room for one of her sister's many bags. She grabbed the silver one with black lettering on it, of course spelling out 'Linette'. She turned and grabbed three pairs of shoes, just to give her sister a bit of a selection.

When she went back out, she stood behind her sister quickly who was sitting down and playing with her hair. She took the hint and opened the silver bag, grabbing a brush from it. She closed the bag and walked over to Linette. The two of them were alone in the small kitchen.

"May I brush your hair sister?" She winced mentally as she said that. Why must she do this? Her sister nodded.

"Do as you wish, Caramel." She said in a tired voice. Carminda brought the brush up and began to gently comb her sister's hair, all the while thinking about how much she hated the name 'Caramel'.

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Ginny rubbed her eyes as she finally came downstairs. She was slightly surprised to see Carminda putting brushes and some make-up away into a silver case. She looked around, seeing that the two of them were the only ones in the house.

"Where are my dad and uh… Hayley, right?" Carminda nodded as she looked up at Ginny.

"Yes. I believe they went to town a while ago. Your father wanted you to sleep in." Ginny looked at her strangely.

"Then why did," She rolled her eyes. " _Miss_ Linette wake me up?" She thought she saw a slight grin on Carminda's face.

"Your father wanted you to sleep in. Lintette was another matter." Ginny snorted but nodded.

"Alright, that makes sense." She was silent for a moment, thinking of what to say. "Speaking of Linette, where is she?" Carminda looked up at her with a slightly guilty look on her face.

"She um… went out." Ginny blinked.

"Okay…went out…where?" Carminda shrugged.

"Town, I guess. I don't know much about this town and neither does she. I guess that's why she wanted to go and 'explore' it." Ginny nodded, racking her brain for any places where Linette might run into trouble around here. She came up with none and knew that there weren't that many places where a teenager could hang out anyway. Most usually came over to their house, but then again that was when all of her brother's were here to help throw a party.

Positive that there wasn't anything that Linette could really do she turned her attention over to Carminda.

"So, you want me to show you around the house? There isn't much to show but…?" Carminda nodded and then quickly lifted the bag into view quickly along with two pairs of shoes.

"That sounds great." She said in her quiet voice. "Just let me go and put these back into Linette's room, okay?" The dark haired girl grabbed everything and went into Linette's room, putting the things where they belonged before coming back downstairs to where Ginny was standing, once again looking at her strangely.

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A/N: Ugh - I did _not_ like writing this chapter…. -.-;; I want to get to the really good stuff! Lol. Later.

Beaner-Bop


	4. That Wretched Boy

Cinderella

Beaner-Bop

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A/N: Someone pointed out that I pretty much went over the fact that the Weasley's did have chickens. *shrugs* They don't here I guess.

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Disclaimer: Nah…

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Chapter Four: That Wretched Boy

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Ginny started the tour off, pointing out different aspects of their house and little things that they may want to know, or are a little interesting.

The tour went fairly quickly, Carminda wasn't one with making interruptions every chance she got. Ginny caught herself asking 'Any questions?' just to get the girl to speak. She was worse than Ginny was when she was younger, and with the stories that the twins used to constantly tease her about, she _knew_ she was bad. Ginny shook her head lightly in pity.

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Wonder why she's like that… She thought to herself silently as she ushered the girl into her room, going to see if she can get the girl to talk some more, hoping that maybe her room would give Carminda a 'safe environment' to talk in. The girl walked in slowly, taking her time to look at everything that scattered the room. Ginny ignored the other girl's odd behavior and sat on her bed, waiting for Carminda to do the same. When the other girl did, she began to search for a topic in her mind that both could talk about, but Carminda intervened her train of thought with an idea of her own.

She was pointing at the Hogwarts yearbook, their school small enough that the didn't need one for individual years, or to chop them up.

"May I see that?" Ginny blinked and shrugged, getting up to grab it.. She handed it over to Carminda.

"Knock yourself out." She told the girl. She sat down beside her and watched Carminda stare at the book like she did her room, quietly but taking everything in. 'She hasn't even opened it yet.' Ginny thought to herself.

After a while Carminda finally opened the book and turned to the index, her slim finger working its way down to the students section. She got a little confused at how they were grouped though and looked to Ginny for help.

"What is…Gryffindor?" Ginny looked at the girl oddly then rolled her eyes. She wasn't used to talking to people who didn't already know practically everything about Hogwarts because they had been there…or were currently still there.

"Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw are houses at Hogwarts, I'm in Gryffindor, just like everyone else in my family, so those are the pages where I'd be." Carminda nodded and turned to those pages. Turning three pages she made it to the fourth years. She grinned at Ginny's picture, which was waving and was wearing a huge grin. Ginny rolled her eyes and hid her face in her hands. Carminda smiled at the embarrassed girl.

"It could have been worse…What's with the lion an every page?" Ginny shrugged her shoulders.

"The lion is the symbol for Gryffindor." She said quickly, watching as Carminda grabbed the pages of the book and begin to flip through them. She stopped after about a minute and Ginny wondered what she was looking at. She peered over Carminda's shoulder. She looked confused as Carminda pointed to Malfoy.

"Who's that?" She asked silently. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"A plain ol' bastard. Nothing much." Carminda turned to grin back at Ginny.

"He's a cute one though, isn't he?" Ginny groaned and went to cover her face with her pillow.

"He's a nutcase!" She said when Carminda was able to get the pillow away from her. "I don't care how cute he is, he's a right down jackass!" Carminda laughed silently and turned back to the page. She looked closely at the animal that was silently moving around the page.

"Surely he can't be that bad." Ginny rolled her eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

"Trust me, he is! He's vile, rude, your obvious snake." Carminda looked at Ginny confused.

"But what's wrong with that?" Ginny was about to say something sarcastic when Carminda's question got to her. She looked even more confused than before.

"What do you mean?" Carminda shrugged.

"What's wrong with being a snake?" Ginny blinked and shrugged.

"They're vile creatures, what else is there to say?" Carminda rolled her eyes and began to sit cross legged on Ginny's bed.

"But technically, so are lions." Ginny looked at Carminda like she grew a second head after that.

"What do you mean? Lions are-" Carminda interrupted her.

"The exact same are snakes if you take away the physical differences." Ginny looked at Carminda confused.

"What do you mean?" Carminda took in a deep breath.

"I _mean_, lions kill just as much as snakes do, both are dangerous if you piss them off. A snake, from what I know, doesn't attack unless given a reason, and from I've heard, neither does a lion - so technically, calling someone a snake isn't that big of an insult…" Carminda was silent for a few seconds before giving Ginny a small smile. "That, and Linette can't _stand_ snakes." Ginny grinned at her and began to laugh out loud.

"I guess your right!"

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It was a few hours before Linette got back and when she did she was _steaming_.

"That wretched, idiot…" She mumbled under her breath. Ginny and Carminda looked up from the card game they were playing, and while Ginny wasn't sure as to why Carminda began to clean it up the second she saw Linette enter the room, she didn't question it either, seeing the mood that Linette was in.

"Linette, what the heck is wrong with you?" Ginny asked the girl. The blond haired girl looked at the girl angrily.

"Oh, wouldn't you like to know Jenna! Alright, fine, let me tell you something, Draco Malfoy is an asshole! He doesn't deserve to talk to me in the first place! And what does he do when I allow him to talk to me? Insults me! Tells me to get a life - to go away! As though I would stick to that piece of shit! Tell me, Jenna, are you happy now?" Ginny tried her best not to smile, which would show Linette that, yes, indeed she was. After a while Ginny couldn't fight it anymore and a few giggles escaped from her throat, though she tried to stop them.  
"You… ran into Dra…co Mal-Malfoy?" It took her a while to say, her giggles escaping more than she wanted them to.

"Yes, that wretched boy. And- why the hell are you laughing, can't you see that I'm traumatized?" Linette screamed. Ginny rolled her eyes, Linette was milking it for all it was worth, though it wasn't worth all that much…

"Linette, Draco insults everybody, every chance he gets unless for some reason it will help him do something. That's how Draco _is_." She rolled her eyes. "Why don't you go upstairs or something, I'll bring up some cookies that Carminda and I are baking later, okay?" There was nothing Ginny wanted more than to get Linette out of that room. Linette nodded her head.

"Yes, yes…and you think about what you did to me! You're just as bad as the boy!" She said.

When Linette had climbed the stairs and was out of earshot, Carminda walked over to Ginny and grinned lightly.

"I told you snakes aren't all that bad." She whispered before bringing out the cookies and setting them on the counter to cool. Ginny nodded her head and went to grab a spatula to separate the cookies from the pan.

"I guess you're right…" She said. Carminda went silent for a while and while this wouldn't have fazed Ginny yesterday, the amount Carminda talked to today, it practically scared Ginny to hear the girl go silent.

"I think Linette is going to do something." Carminda said after a while. Ginny looked back at the girl confused and the other girl explained. "Carminda hates it when people get the better of her so she practically makes it her lifes goal to get better than the people who did that to her…" Carminda studied the floor, trying to come up with the right words to explain this to Ginny with. "You've been getting the better of her since she got here, and obviously that… Malfoy character did so…" She looked up at Ginny with frightened eyes. "Just be careful." Ginny blinked, but nodded.

"I'll do my best." She said truthfully. Carminda smiled at that before going over to one of the cabinets and grabbing a plate.

"Linette likes her cookies warm at best, so you might want to take them to her now, they'll cool down fully to the point she likes it on the way to her room." Ginny nearly jumped at Carminda's sudden change of mood but did as the girl told her.

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A/N: Hmm…kind of strange chapter if you ask me… o well. Laterz.

Beaner-Bop


	5. Ritual Magics?

Cinderella

Beaner-Bop

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A/N: 'lo all. Lately I've decided that snakes are getting an unfair rap, so now I'm probably gonna be finding quotes and placing them in the chapters wherever I think they may fit (or remember…).

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Disclaimer: Nope.

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Chapter Five: Ritual Magics?

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It is unfair to say that snakes are dumb (though they ain't exactly Edison, they ain't exactly Dan Quayle, either). - Simon's Snake Site [1]

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There was an odd sound coming from Linette's room. It was about an hour since the whole 'Draco incident' as Ginny now dubbed it, she wasn't exactly certain on what happened, but whatever it was - it pissed Linette off. A lot. Ginny couldn't help but grin and decide mentally that this year she was going to be extra nice to Draco. She'd step in his way, let him make fun of her, then not do anything in turn. Unless she decided that he REALLY deserved it.

Ginny was just about to go into her room when Linette came out of hers. The other girl glared at her for a bit, told her she was going back out, and then pushed past her and went down the narrow stairs. Ginny looked at her for a moment, shrugged, then went into her room.

It would be roughly five hours before Linette came back. Ginny and Carminda were in the kitchen starting supper. Linette watched them for a moment and then stomped up to her room.

Ginny turned her head slightly to talk to Carminda who was behind her, putting some food onto the table.

"What's with her?" From out of the corner of her eye she saw Carminda shrug.

"Probably her revenge on you and this Draco person. Will you please hand me the salt?" Ginny did as Carminda asked and the other girl sprinkled it lightly over the meat.

Ginny turned back to the salad before asking Carminda another question.

"What do you mean are revenge? …You aren't serious, right?" Carminda was quiet for a few moments before answering her.

"From what I can tell, Linette is going to want you out of the way as soon as possible. She does _not_ like you or Draco." Ginny had to keep reminding herself that Malfoy's name was Draco. "So whatever 'revenge' she has planned on you - it's going to be together. She's wants to get this over with as quickly as possible."

Ginny blinked. Had it not been for the fact that Carminda didn't even have a slight grin or odd twinkle in her eye, Ginny wouldn't have believed her. However…since she didn't…

"Um…what revenge does she usually do?" Carminda shrugged.

"Anything that's ritual magic. It's odd- you'd think that for someone who was proud of her pureblood line-" Ginny rolled her eyes.. "-that they wouldn't use such… _informal_ magic." Ginny nodded her head but then got confused.

"Umm…why is ritual magic informal?"

"Because even some muggles and pretty much all squibs can _do_ ritual magic. You have to know it very well though or you may make people who absolutely loathe each other, or are literally just friends, fall in love, kill each other, or switch bodies with a cat or something on accident if you do something wrong. They're extremely dangerous." Ginny blinked and then wondered silently why the heck they never learned this in class. _If it's a history subject than the answer is right there._ She thought to herself.

Ginny could have sworn that she head something like thunder somewhere in the bedrooms but just shrugged, thinking it was something that George and Fred had left in their house ages ago.

She turned around and put the salad onto the table just as she heard the clock chime that her dad was 'home'.

-

Linette was careful with the ingredients. She re-checked the parchment three times to make sure that she was doing it right. The last time she did a spell like this, she actually made the love of her life fall in love with Carminda. She finally figured out that it was probably Carminda's fault anyone and made her work extra hard for so far, three months. The punishment was still going on.

"Now let's see here…. Chicken intestines, check… that one beetle's legs, ew, gross, check…candles, check…" Linette carefully put everything she needed where they belonged before sitting in the middle of her room, chanting.

At the very end, a slight round of thunder happened and in front of her, a small pale blue stone with an elegant 'W' was gleaming from it's own light.

She picked it up and twirled it in her fingers for a moment before hiding it under her pillow. Now only one task was left.

__

How do I get them both to touch it? She thought to herself as she began to walk down the stairs to greet her mother.

-

"Bloody bint…" Draco Malfoy cursed softly to himself shortly after Linette left. For some reason, when she saw him, she decided to paste herself to his side, much to his displeasuse.

What happened next was the usual fighting mess he usually got into then she huffed and walked away. He figured he won that round.

As he kept on walking around the town where his family was for some reason staying close by he silently hoped he didn't have to run into her again - this 'vacation' was as bad as it could get already.

-

Ginny was just about to get into bed when an owl tapped the window with it's beak. It was holding a thin, hand-sized parcel on it's leg and it seemed to have trouble keeping it there.

She walked over to the window and let it in, untying it as soon as the bird gave her the chance. Once it was off the bird ruffled it's feathers, squawked at her than hopped around her desk before finally settling on a spot and beginning it's descent out of her room. Ginny started at it for a few moments, pretty sure that she had seen it somewhere before but wasn't quite certain.

She gave up on it after a few moments, shrugging, before grabbing the small note that she just noticed was there off the package and setting it down. 

On the paper she read:

This stone is a lucky charm

I got it for you, made me think

of you. Take this stone with

you wherever you go and

you'll get good luck.

-Somebody in the House

Ginny looked at the paper and then back at the stone. She grinned lightly before putting it into the cloak pocket that she was going to where tomorrow. Only Carminda would be so sweet to give her something like that.

It was a few moments before she drifted off to sleep, remembering that Carminda never left the house since she got there.

-

A/N: Eh…not as long as I would have liked but oh well.

[1] - 


	6. The Stone's True Worth

Cinderella

Beaner-Bop

A/N: UGH! Had to re-do half this chapter 'cuz I lost it!!! Probably a good thing though…since the beginning of the last one wasn't to good…

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Disclaimer: None.

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Chapter Six: The Stone's True Worth

-

__

Said General Clay to General Gore,

"Oh must we fight this silly war?

To kill and die is such a bore."

"I quite agree," said General Gore

-Excerpt from The Generals by Shel Silverstein

-

Carminda and Ginny looked at the antique dolls on the shelves, every now and then, Carminda would bring her hand up to her face to cover up the grin she was wearing. Ginny rolled her eyes whenever she did it, still not used to the girl's strange habits. Her attention turned to a red haired doll in the corner. She bent down to get a better look at it, knowing that she was probably never going to get it with a quick look at the price tag near it's feet.

"What have we here? Is the Weaslette still playing with her dollies? Oh, wait, of course you're not. Couldn't afford them in the first place, eh?" Ginny sucked in a breath before slowly turning around to glare at the boy behind her. Without taking her glare off of him, she addressed Carminda.

"This, Carminda, is Draco Malfoy. Draco Malfoy, this is Carminda. I believe you met her sister earlier, Linette?" She smirked at him when she saw him wince at the name. Idly, he turned to Carminda.

"She was your sister?" He asked. It was in a monotone voice, so Ginny couldn't figure out what he was thinking. Carminda nodded. He nodded back. "She's a little bitch." He said in the same tone as before. Ginny let out a small laugh but stopped when Draco looked at her strangely.

"What was that for, Weasley?" Ginny rolled her eyes.

"You haven't seen her in full blast yet." He cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Scary?" Ginny shrugged.

"You could say that. It's also bloody hilarious though." Draco nodded slowly and the three of them stood like that for a while, wondering what to do. Carminda began to move a little closer to Ginny when she stepped on the end of her cloak, barreling into Ginny instead. The two girls fell into a heap on the floor, both of them blushing lightly when Draco began to laugh at them. He squatted down so he was closer to their level.

"I say something with that fall, trip, and spring joke, but it's entirely overused and-hmm… What's this?" He was looking at a blue stone, and then began to reach for it, along with Ginny with her free arm.

"That's mine, that's what." She said, touching the stone at the same time he did. Neither of them noticed the slightly panicked look on Carminda's face when she saw the stone and once they grabbed it, they didn't see much of anything, really, just a really bright white light.

-

The woman looked at Linette strangely when the girl's eyes flashed a yellowish color before returning to normal. Apparently the girl looked a little flustered too but she seemed okay with it, like it was a nice surprise.

"I wasn't thinking it would happen that fast!" She said happily. The woman looked confused.

"What just…happened?" Linette looked at her blankly before shrugging delicately, coming up with lie.

"Oh, just started a new medication, that little eye-flash thingy meant it worked or something like that." The woman still looked skeptically at the girl, but deciding that it really wasn't any of her business and that it would be _much_ better for the store if she didn't scare this customer away. At that she began to point at some more price-y jewelry that was on the racks, silently forgetting what she saw happen just a few short moments ago.

-

"Ow!" Was the first thing that came out of Ginny's mouth when she caught her breath, the wind being knocked out of her. Wherever she landed, it wasn't comfy. Her head was surrounded by grass, her back, gravel, and her legs, some sort of concrete. She sat up slowly, so she wouldn't get sick and looked at her surrounds.

__

I'm…am I on muggle property? Ginny wondered. She quickly rolled out of the way when she saw a large metal thing coming at her. _Note to self: Watch out for those whatchamacallits - carrs? Cars? Yea, that's it._ She thought silently trying to catch her breath.

She stood up on unsteady legs, with a heart that was beating as fast as it possibly could. _Might as well figure out where I am._ She thought to herself, heading in the opposite direction of where the car came.

-

"Draco!" The name was what woke him up. His body felt groggy, his eyes were sore, and ugh, he was moving so slow.

"Ugh…um…yea?" He heard a 'hmmph' sound come from in front of him. He wasn't thinking about that so much as what the heck was he laying on? _What am I on? Bags filled with beans?_

"I told you to stop going to sleep on your bean bags, that's what your _bed_ is for! Honestly! Nearly eighteen and-" Draco looked at the woman in front of him, shocked at what she said.

"Nearly eighteen? What the heck are you talking about? I'm not even seventeen yet!" He told her. The woman crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him angrily, her face beginning to turn red.

"Don't you dare try that on me, boy!" She straightened her back. "I made sure it was your eighteenth birthday coming up!" She glared at him. "And wouldn't your mother know how old her only child is?" Draco looked confused for a second.

"My mother is here?" The woman at him glared at him even more harshly than before, her fingers gripping her upper arms tightly.

"Yes, would you believe she's in this very _room_ with you? Gah…sons." Draco looked at her sharply. _In this…_ _oh shit._ "Draco, dear, are you okay? Your face is turning green." Draco, opened his mouth a few times to say something - finally, on the third try something came out.

"I'm, um, fine. Could you leave me alone for a second?" His 'mother' nodded her head to him.

"Of course sweety, but we have more to discuss." Draco nodded his head numbly and the woman backed out of the doorway and closed the bright red door behind her. Draco looked around the room and saw two other doors. He was lucky when he chose the middle door, it leading to the bathroom.

Once he was done doing what er…needed to be done. He looked around the bathroom, wincing at all the bright colors. _At least nothing is pastel or pink and purple…_ He thought to himself. The bathroom was actually okay, it was mainly black and white with a bright red bathtub and towels.

Going back outside, he noticed the black and white décor again, but this room was much brighter, red, yellow, green, and blue went everywhere within it.

He heard a knock on the door and remembered that his 'mother' still needed to speak with him. He rolled his eyes as he walked over to the door, letting her back inside where she immediately began to inspect him.

"You okay, dear?" He nodded and pulled away from her.

"You still wanted to speak with me?" She nodded. The look on her face gave Draco the feeling that he didn't want to hear what was coming next, so he began to brace himself as well as he could.

"Now…I know you don't like talking about this," Draco gave himself a mental pat on the back for his good guess, "but it must be done. You know you're nearly eighteen and that means-" Draco began to remember what he said to his actual mother what seemed only days ago. _"You heard father talking to the dark lord the other day. Apparently Voldemort plans on giving me his empire after he's dead because I'm supposedly one of his strongest and youngest supporters. Because of this he wants to make sure that his legacy goes on. Thus meaning that by my eighteenth birthday-_

"I need to have a bride." His 'mother' nodded. "Well where have I heard this before?" He said, going back over to sit on one of the many 'bean bags' in his room. At a glance, it seemed he had six or seven. _Oddly comfortable, these things are…_ He thought to himself. He looked at his 'mother' waiting for what she had to say next. "Well? What do you have to speak to me about?" His mother grinned at him lightly, and for some reason he began to feel hopeful.

"Now, I wasn't able to do much - you know what your father is like when he decides something, but…" She grinned at him, "…you don't need to be married to that princess that was previously betrothed to!" He felt a smile break out on his face before he could stop it. _Why the hell is this such good news to me? For all I know, she could be hot._ Draco thought silently. The woman continued on. "However," His gut began to feel queasy again, "you still need to be married by you eighteenth birthday, otherwise you won't be handed the throne when it is your time." He was about to say something when her words registered to him. _Wa-wait, wait! What throne? Why would I get passed a throne?_ He decided that being cocky was a good route.  
"Well maybe I don't want the throne." The woman rolled her eyes.

"Not this again Draco, please. Just try to find someone. Get married, get the throne, and make the family please?" She asked in a pleading voice. He glared at her, wondering why she was acting all sad on him.

"Why do I have to get married at all? Why is absolutely everyone pestering me to get married?" Something in his 'mother' must have snapped because she straightened and looked him in the eye.

"At least you get a chance at happiness with your partner, whoever you may choose." She sniffled lightly, "Lord knows I didn't." With that she turned around and stomped out of the room. Draco couldn't help the little sliver of guilt that he felt when he saw her leave like that.

Before he dwelled on the fact to much, a butler, not a house-elf, walked into the room and bowed to him.  
"Prince Draco, your 'hombres' as they call themselves are here to see you." He looked at the man strangely, but shrugged off the feeling.

__

I can get used to being called a prince.

-

A/N: I'm doooooooooooooooooooone…oh! Oh! Cold hands!

Beaner-Bop


	7. Familiar Things

Cinderella

Beaner-Bop

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A/N: Ugh – I'm doing this chapter from school so it might be a little hurried and short.

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Disclaimer: I own nothing except for anything you don't recognize…

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Chapter Seven: Familiar Things

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Ginny winced as she walked along the roadside. She didn't understand why she had the need to go this way, she just went with it. It almost felt as though she were walking to her house and yet at the same time it was…different. Obviously, because she didn't know where she was going, but still. Her feet were taking her somewhere and it felt similar.

She was in a deep countryside, no one was around the area for miles except for the few stray cars that she passed on her way up here. She considered herself lucky when she thought about one of the cars that passed her. It seemed to slow down for a while but she ran into the cover of the trees and after a while the car finally passed and left her alone, something she was very thankful for.

She was passing fences now, lined with some of the largest and tallest trees she had ever seen in her life except for those few she had seen in the Forbidden Forest. These trees were obviously put here to keep people out.

Apparently though, this rule didn't apply to her it seemed as she climbed over a part of the fence that was actually a little worn from people – or 'her' doing that all the time. She began to run once she was back in the 'familiar' property. A small smile sprung onto her face as she saw the dark gray bricks of the old family home. It was large, larger than the Burrow, definitely and in the back of a mind whispered _but you won't be able to keep it unless father finds some new trade or some lost long relative dies or you marry not for love but money._ She felt the smile on her face vanish as she thought about that last one.

She knew that she brought the idea to her father ages ago but he refused heatedly. He said that their family was not one looking for greatness through money, and that she would not be some type of pawn into getting some. Ginny snorted, still not used to all these extra thoughts that were NOT hers running through her head. One last 'other person' thought ran through her head though, before she could stop it.

_To bad father did that himself._ And then the voice quieted, no matter how hard Ginny tried to wake it up and help her understand what is going on.

-

Draco's 'hombres' were morons.

And they were not what he was expecting. At Hogwarts, Crabbe and Goyle were more bodyguards/they're-friends-of-the-family-friends-or-else kinda thing… Blaise Zabini was probably the only thing that he could call an honest 'friend'. He was not expecting that his friends here would be any different than those three for some reason.

He was very, very, wrong.

Three people came in but they were extremely…whats the word, strange? The first one to come in had bright green hair and bone earrings decorating his ears as well as some religious symbols and a nose ring. He was wearing a black t-shirt, black jeans, huge boots and metal jewelry galore.

The next one was dark skinned and covered completely in what appeared to be a loose strait jacket with matching white pants and light blue footies.

Draco did his best not to stare.

The last one seemed normal enough, he had piercings in his ears but that was all that stood out about him. He was wearing a white shirt with a blue button-up over it and jeans. He nodded to Draco who in turn nodded back to them.

He was thankful that the one with the button-up spoke before he did.

"So, what's up with the girl thing – here any news on little-miss-prissy-princess?" Draco was confused for a second before silently thanking whoever he needed to for the fact that he already had to talk about this with his 'mother'.

"Slightly changed apparently." The others hushed up and listened to him intently. He didn't know if he should be used to this silence or not.

"You mean you don't need to get married to her?" asked the one in the strait jacket. Draco nodded. "Can I marry her?" The one in black through a bean bag at him.

"Please, like someone that high up would marry you…what do you want her for, her money?" The one in the strait jacket began to smile at them.

"What else?" The one with the button-up groaned which the one in the strait jacket rolled his eyes. "Geesh, what is with you Hare? Man, between you and Draco we could have some type of good-boy contest…. I can see it now, come one, come all girls, win one perfectly good and perfect husband you've always dreamed, one a rich prince, the other a nice, good, strong, hard working boy! Take your pick!" The one in black interrupted him.

"Be sure to choose when you're around three so that way when it's time for you to actually marry, you'll be past the 'designated courtship time' and actually be able to get to the good stuff while you're still able!" Draco couldn't help rolling his eyes at that one.

-

A/N: OMG, I didn't want to stop there but I need to hurry, class is in 2 minutes, later!

Beaner-Bop


	8. Familiar Things Part 2

Cinderella

Beaner-Bop

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A/N: More finishing the last chapter than anything…

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Disclaimer: please.

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Chapter Eight: Familiar Things (Part 2)

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_"What else?" The one with the button-up groaned which the one in the strait jacket rolled his eyes. "Geesh, what is with you Hare? Man, between you and Draco we could have some type of good-boy contest…. I can see it now, come one, come all girls, win one perfectly good and perfect husband you've always dreamed, one a rich prince, the other a nice, good, strong, hard working boy! Take your pick!" The one in black interrupted him._

_"Be sure to choose when you're around three so that way when it's time for you to actually marry, you'll be past the 'designated courtship time' and actually be able to get to the good stuff while you're still able!" Draco couldn't help rolling his eyes at that one._

-

"Hey, Draco," the one they called 'Hare' asked. He looked at Draco, choosing his words carefully, trying to change the direction of the conversation. "How's that ball thing coming?" Draco looked at him confused. Hare rolled his eyes and started making strange motions with his hands. "The ball…for…your…birthday…" Draco blinked and put his head into his hands. He began to mumble lightly so that they couldn't hear him.

"Not here too…"

-

Carminda picked up her skirts and began to run quickly from the small shop they were at before. She didn't stop running until she was safely back in the Weasley's house. Dropping her hands to her sides, she looked around. She heard laughing coming from her sister's room.

_It figures she's home already…_ she thought to herself. She slapped herself lightly on the hand for the thought and stopped any other cruel thoughts of her sister.

The two of them needed to talk.

She climbed the old stairs and went into the hall, nervously walking towards her sister's door. She knew that unless she was called, she wasn't welcomed in her sister's room but maybe Linette forgot the rules, after all, she made them ages ago. She raised her hand to the door and knocked. Linette stopped laughing at whatever it was to snap "who it is?". Carminda swallowed.

"It's me, Linette." Her sister snorted. "You, you wouldn't happen to know where Ginny is, do you?" Another snort.

"Come in here, Carminda. I can barely hear you through that door." Carminda followed her instructions. "What did you say, idiot?" Carminda's shoulders slumped lightly.

"G-Ginny, do-do you know where she…she is?" She winced at the number of times her voice cracked. Her sister didn't seem to notice as she started to laugh again.

"Yes, I do!" She laughed again. "Her and that blonde moron are hopefully gone, and gone for good." Carminda winced, and reminded herself to look around the house and see if Linette had started to 'clear out' the house yet of Ginny. She hoped she hadn't.

"You shouldn't do that." The words came out of her mouth before she could stop them. Her hands flew to her mouth and her eyes opened wide. Linette stopped smiling and laughing and looked closely at her sister.

"What did you say?" Carminda swallowed.

"Nothing." She whispered. A sinking feeling welled up in her gut at that.

"You didn't say 'nothing' Carminda. What did you say?" Carminda winced but stayed silent. Her sister did the same as she kept staring at her.

"Carminda…" She finally said, "Start straightening up my room. I think you need a drink." Carminda nodded.

"Yes, Linette." Her sister went to the closet and pulled out the one bag that Carminda wasn't allowed to touch. She looked at it longingly as her sister stood up and left the room with it. She began to turn around and clean up her sister's room.

It's what her sister told her to do after all.

-

A/N: Finally done, yay!


	9. Meetings and Memories

Cinderella

Beaner-Bop

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A/N: Another story chapter from the BOP!

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Disclaimer: No own.

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Chapter Eight: Meetings and Memories

-

Ginny walked into 'her room' and sat on 'her bed.'

She had just met with 'her father'.

Not to mention, her 'step sisters' and 'step mother'.

She turned to look at her mattress and screamed into it.

"Why? Why?! WHY?!" She grabbed her pillow which was nearby and began to scream into that instead. She heard a knock on her door and muttered 'come in', already knowing in the back of her mind who it was.

"I'm sorry about that horrid display Miss Ginevra. Your father is a bit off his rocker today if I do say so myself." It was Stephen, her family's one and only servant.

He was older than her 'father', who's hair, brown, was turning gray. His was completely white and his face slightly wrinkling. He had a set face but for some reason, it didn't look as though it were meant to be that grave…

Only a half hour ago she was confronted about her 'stepmother', having her ask if she stole Mildred's shoes. Her 'father' and 'sisters' followed shortly after her, all with accusing looks in their eyes.

In her own defense, and as much as she hated to admit her - her feet were bigger than Mildred, Mildred being a toothpick of a girl, with feet around the size of gum drops…

Basically, thought Ginny REALLY didn't want to admit it, her feet were way to big. She smiled at Stephen.

"Thanks for that. Its like…nobody cares." Stephen nodded and sat beside her and rubbed her back.

"I know Miss Ginevra, I know. But you must remember - That's never true for anyone. Do you understand?" She nodded her head. She felt the bed move rather than see him stand up.

"I'll go and bring your supper to you Miss Ginevra, I feel that you would prefer this over…?" She nodded to him.  
"Yes, I don't really feel like eating with them. Thank you Stephen." He bowed, turned and left the room.

Ginny turned and looked at the ceiling, trying to remember things that she knew she remembered from only yesterday. Her eyes widened when she began to remember, but something was…different.

__

'I'm forgetting!'

-

Hare, Tanner (dark kid with a strait jacket), Slater (green haired guy) were all surrounding Draco playing some of the most idiotic games he'd ever thought were created. And whether he was wiling to admit it or not…

Fun.

"Alright - just because we're bored out of our minds - girls you KNOW who you're willing to screw!" Draco rolled his eyes at Slater's language. The only type of girls he got were…actually…he got an awful lot. _How the hell does a bastard like that do it? _He grinned, _what am I talking about? I do that!_

"Hare, you start."

"Um…Annie." Tanner nodded.

"Good, good, the girl down the street I'm guessing, I'll go with…Belle." It was Draco's turn.

"Candice." Draco looked confused for a second, _who the hell is Candice? _but everyone in the group nodded and grinned.

"You got the easy one, ha! Lets see…" This was Slater. "I'll go with…Dani."

"Elisha."

"Frannie."

"G…G…" Draco said. The others looked confused to. "Umm…" Suddenly a red haired girl came into his thoughts. "Ginny." The others looked even more confused.

"Ginny? Who's that?" Draco blinked a few times before answering.

"I…don't know."

-

Her fathers name was Peter, making Ginny feel even more uncomfortable here. This _wasn't _her life!

So why was she the only person who seemed to know this?

She found a few books in 'her room' and began to sit down and read one. They were actually really good…The one she was reading currently was about a sea witch who moved and lived in pond near where her true love was supposed to be, waiting for him to come back to her.

Ginny turned another page when Peter walked in. She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, father?" _he isn't my father! _He looked nervous, which could be from the very formal suit he's wearing. He kept grabbing the knot of his tie and moving it around his neck.

"Your mother-"

"stepmother."

"-and I are going to be heading out to the theater," Ginny felt something start to rise in her. She wasn't confused about this feeling though, it doesn't matter what life she's living, its always going to be there.

Anger.

"and we're leaving you girls at home. I was hoping you could…ah…get along with them, talk to them…you know, girl things." He grinned at her and gave her a thumbs up. Ginny saw a slightly guilty look enter his eyes and she thought he might sit down beside her and start doing all the things he should be doing at this point, apologizing for bringing home a wife with sisters and not telling her, having them ruin her life.

He didn't.

"Well…ah…I have to be, um, going. Good bye dear, be good!" He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. With that, he turned around.

Ginny felt a pang in her chest and couldn't help the tear that came out.

"Good bye, father."

-

A/N: Kinda short, but the story is gonna really begin moving (again) with the next chapter…I hope -.-;;


	10. Invitations

Cinderella

Beaner-Bop

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A/N: Ugh.

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Disclaimer: Haven't you seen the sad, sad truth enough?

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Chapter Nine: Invitations

-

Ginny was walking around her current place of residence when Peter and his wife came barreling into the door together. The older woman (who Ginny has taken to calling Lady in her head) was practically smothering Peter with affection Ginny had seen since Peter gave Lady a new gold necklace.

__

I wonder what he bought her now?

She looked back down and continued reading another book she got from the shelves. She saw a flash of something bright pink and transparent. Wondering what it is she closed her book and walked over to them.

"Hello, how was the theater?" Lady turned around rapidly before glaring harshly at Ginny.

"Oh, it's you." She pasted a smile on her face, "It was wonderful, dear. How were you and the girls?" Ginny shrugged.

"I couldn't find them, so I read." Ginny ignored Peter who was glaring at her. She didn't need to feel the glare from a parent that wasn't her own. Lady snorted very…un-ladylike.

"It's because of things that you aren't going to the ball." She waved the clear pink plastic in front of Ginny's face. "Your father," Lady turned and grinned at Peter seductively, making Ginny want to gag, "Was so…sweet. He was able to rustle up a few tickets to the ball…" Ginny's eyes widened.

"There's going to be a ball?" She whispered. _Where the hell did that come from?_ She asked herself, once again. Lady nodded.

"Yes, in honor of Prince Draco's Eighteenth birthday." She grinned happily to the ceiling and brought her hands together in a praying motion, "They say he's looking for a bride!" Her grin got wider, "I just know it'll be one of my girls." She turned her stare to Ginny again. "Your father didn't get you an invitation, but I'm sure that's alright, right? You're a little bit to tomboy-ish to really like dances and such." She practically twirled away from them. "I must go tell Mildred and Donna." Ginny stared at her, wondering if the woman was serious.

__

I can't believe the woman wants to sell her daughters away like that! Doesn't she care at all what they want?! …Wait a second, did she say…Ginny's eyes got larger than platters, or would've, had it been possible.

__

Did she say 'Prince Draco'? No way in hell!

She shook her head.

__

This is my luck.

Dammit.

-

"The dance is WHEN?!" Draco screamed. His mother was leaning on the doorway ringing her hands, and not looking at his face. His friends had left earlier and his mother asked if she could have another word with him.

"Tomorrow night." Draco started moving his hands around quickly.

"I thought you said something else." His mother shrugged at him.

"Whatever I said, it doesn't matter. It's going to be tomorrow." She looked downcast for a moment before biting her lip and looking into his eyes. "If it makes any difference Draco…I really am sorry." She told him.

A knock came from the only door in the room they were in. His mother went to answer it. He waited somewhat impatiently for her to get back, when she did, she looked more downcast than before.

"All the girls are from the kingdom - all those who are coming." She whispered to him, trying to be somewhat kind. "And remember, don't marry for looks, or money." She shivered again, "Marry for kindness, and now," She took in a deep breath, "Your father wants a word with me." Draco nodded at his mother as she left him alone in the room. Shaking his head he fell down to the floor.

__

Damn.

-

The liquid burned her throat, but her sister told her to drink it, so she did.

She was supposed to follow her sisters orders.

She missed Ginny.

She was becoming a new sister to her.

She wasn't now though.

The liquid burned, she kept drinking.

Her sister was watching her.

Her sister told her to drink everything in the glass.

When she drank the full glass she began to lick it a little, trying to get it all.

Linette nodded at her.

She was happy.

Carminda drank all the liquid.

It would take a while to work.

That's okay.

Linette was telling her something.

What was she saying?

Oh.

That.

Yes, Linette.

Carminda will be a good girl again.

Would you like some tea, Linette?

Carminda will go make you some.

Maybe some cookies too?

Caminda will make those for you.

Yes, Linette.

You are the best sister anyone can have.

You are perfect.

You told me so.

-

A/N: another chapter done!

Bean


	11. Stephen Says

Cinderella

Beaner-Bop

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A/N: Yet another chapter…

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Disclaimer: Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight…

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Chapter Ten: Stephen Says…

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Ginny looked at her ceiling wondering what would come next. She winced at the sound of a knock on her door. She didn't answer. It was silent for another ten seconds when the knocks came again.

"Come in, Stephen." The older man did and took a seat next to Ginny's feet and patted her leg lightly.

"How are you Ginevra?" He asked her softly. Ginny shook her head, messing her hair up on the pillow.

"Horrible. What was father thinking when he married the wench?" She asked acidly. Stephen shrugged.

"How should I know. Ever since your mother died, your father's been…lost." Ginny sniffed then nodded.

"I know…but you're supposed to end up going with someone who makes you…you know, 'un lost', aren't you? How is that woman making him, I don't know, found?" Stephen shrugged his aging shoulders.

"I honestly don't know, Miss. Maybe she does it in some strange way, maybe she doesn't do it at all. Perhaps she's safe." Ginny looked confused.

"What do you mean, safe? She'd kick us out of here if she had half a chance. She's worse than your common criminal. Some crooks have reasons behind what they do, besides their own greed. What does she have? Just her greed." Stephen nodded in agreement. He took a moment to gather his thoughts.

"She's safe…in an unsafe way…" He said slowly. Ginny looked up from her pillow and cocked an eyebrow at him.

"And I'm not confused, in a very confused way. Stephen, what the hell do you mean?" He grinned at her apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Ginevra. I'm not explaining myself very well. Let's see here…when your mother died, your father was in pain, we all were. We, were, hurt." She nodded, showing him she was going along with what he said. "Your father never wants to have to feel that pain again in his life." Ginny nodded, though she still didn't quite understand what he was getting at.

"…What does that mean?" She asked softly. Shaking his head, Stephen explained it all to her.

"If this woman dies, your father wouldn't care nearly so much as he did when your mother died." He finally just said. Ginny's eyes widened and her mouth opened and closed for a few moments. She only stopped when Stephen hit a fly that was about to fly into her open mouth.

"Oh…that's what you meant."  
"Yes. That's what I meant." Ginny nodded a moment before sending him a somewhat weak smile.

"Stephen…she wants one of her daughters to marry the prince." He snorted, nodding to her.

"Of course she does. Can't get much higher in society than royalty." Ginny nodded. She began to bite her lip. "Miss Ginevra, is something wrong? Are you quite alright? I fear that if you bite your lip any harder I will have to call an ambulance…" She smiled at him sadly…

"She wants to be in a higher standing than what she already is, doesn't she?" Stephen nodded.

"Women like that always want to be higher in society. Why? You already knew that." She nodded to him.

"I know…it's just…at this party…there's going to be people with much better social standing than daddy, isn't there?" Stephen nodded slowly, trying to follow where she was going with all of this.

"Yes…"

"Stephen?"

"Yes, Miss Ginevra?"

"Daddy's sick. He's pale and he's getting weak…I think…I think she's trying to kill him." His eyes widened at her claim.

"Miss Ginevra! I realize that you might be thinking that this woman is the devil, and quite honestly, I agree with you, but…she's trying to kill your father? Isn't that a little to far fetched, even for her?" Ginny shook her head.

"No. She's going to kill him, Stephen, I just know it." he nodded. "I have to stop her. I have to…" She let out a bark of humorless laughter. "She's going to this dance to look for a new husband."

Stephen snorted. "May the lord above bless who ever gets the unfortunate company of that demon woman."

Ginny was about to say something else when she turned to Stephen and smiled. "You believe me?"

He nodded and grinned. "Why wouldn't I, you silly girl?" She sat up and hugged him. It wasn't until the parted that her grim mood came back.

"But how can I stop her? I have no way of getting to the ball!" Stephen thought about this for a moment before nodding.

"If what you're saying is true, I doubt your father will be able to leave the bed tomorrow. Your father has four tickets to this this thing…I'm sure I can snatch you one from their room…" He looked around the room again and then looked her in the eyes. "You…better visit your mum tomorrow at around noon…you remember those seeds I gave you a few days ago to plant?" She nodded. It was one of the first memories of this world that she had. It was actually what she was returning from doing when she 'came' to this world. "I want you to sing this…" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pad of paper and a pen. He took a few minutes to write something on the paper and then handed it to her. "when you get to the cave, call for Marie, and tell her…tell her Stephen sent you." She looked at the paper, and then back to him.

"You want me…to sing to seeds?" He smiled at her.

"I want you to sing to a tree." She looked even more confused.

"I planted those seeds just a few days ago." He brought his hand up and ruffled her hair playfully.

"And you of all people should know about magic." She looked up at him in shock, the piece of paper still clutched tightly in her hand.

"Stephen…" She was about to say something else when a scream stopped her from doing so.

"OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH DEAR GOD! PETER! PETER! STEPHEN! PETER FELL!" Ginny winced.

"Looks like I was right." She whispered.

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A/N: Ugh, my hands hurt…

Beaner


	12. Singing To Trees

Cinderella

Beaner-Bop

A/N: Ugh - sorry its so late.

Disclaimer:P

Chapter Eleven: Singing to Trees

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You can't fall off the floor. - Anon.

Ginny supposed that she probably should have felt silly, but she didn't. She had taken Stephen's advice and searched out her other self's memory for where the grave was. The wind was whipping around her fiercely and she brought her arms up to hug her chest, shutting her eyes so her hair wouldn't get into them like it wanted to.

She thought again about why she was doing this… Really, she had no reason to trust Stephen - he was this world's Ginny's butler, or servant, or whatever, not hers. He didn't have any reason to know who or what she really was - so then why for the love of Merlin was she listening to him?

She shook her head and trudged on deeper into the countryside. Having told Lady that she was going to make a bouquet of flowers, she had the day full to as she pleased. On an impulse, her thoughts began to run towards Malfoy.

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What the heck is he doing here? Ruining my life most likely. She sighed as she shook her head and began to climb a hill she stopped thinking about Draco though when she came to her mothers grave, and growing over it was a full grown willow tree.

Her mouth hung open in shock and her eyes widened at seeing it. She thought that Stephen was joking with her when he said that the tree would be fully grown. She swallowed when she remembered what she came here to do. She looked around, though she knew that no one but her and the 'magic' tree were there…she was feeling embarrassed about what was coming up.

Positive that no one was going to see, or for that matter, hear, what she was about to do, she began to sing.

She thought about what she had to sing to the tree on the way up.

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"Snap, sizzle, fizzle, drop

Magic with and without a pop

Sing a tune, and use your voice

Now it's time to make your choice"

Ginny watched as some birds began to fly around the tree and begin to sing with her, whether they knew it or not. Ginny got unnerved by one, having it stop, turn, and look at her for a moment in mid-air before continuing to fly around the tree.

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"Am I worthy to see the queen?

I sing this tune the best I can

Praying to be the best I can be.

Don't turn away from me…me" Ginny added weakly, knowing that that wasn't the end of the song, but it didn't really matter - All the birds were out of the tree, and instead of flying around it, they were flying around her. There had to be around twenty in the final total, going around in the large circle. One bird broke out though and stared at her for a moment before doing something that Ginny definitely wasn't expecting - it began speaking to her.

"Hello, dear." It said in a sic kingly high pitched voice that made Ginny's skin crawl like when Professor Snape would intentionally screech the chalk on the black board. She tried not to let it show.

"Hello."

"What brings you here?" The brown bird asked her. Ginny was then assaulted with, "Yes!" "What brings you here?" "Oh, why did you come here?" from all the other birds flying around her head.

It took her a while to answer, feeling disoriented.

"Umm…" She started, looking around. "I'm trying to find a cave…" She told them. The birds began whispering around her but this time she didn't understand them at all. She concentrated on the bird in front of her.

"Judge her, now!" The bird in front of her sang to the others. One by one, the birds got into a straight line and then all but three broke away. "Well then, that's it." The bird sang. "You three," The bird was still singing to the others, "go and see if the queen is ready." The bird turned back to look at her. "This shouldn't take to long." Before Ginny could question in it, she saw the birds fly into the tree and disappear. Her eyes widened and she sat down by the trunk quickly and quietly, trying to hide her surprise - not that she needed to bother, as all the birds were now acting like normal birds and ignoring her.

Just like the other bird said - it didn't take to long. The birds came back, all singing happily. They talked to whom Ginny now dubbed 'Dumbledore', because…well…she must have had a reason for dubbing him that. After a few moments of conversing, Dumbledore flew over to her.

"The queen is expecting you arrival." He went over to the tree and began to fly in circles around it, somehow causing the bark to open carefully in front of her.

"Go, now. You mustn't be late, and the queen hates tardiness."

Draco remembered hearing something about getting married more than once. He knew he did - and he also remembered a splash of red hair.

He remembered an angry girl and a rock thrown on the floor and a sick feeling in his stomach…

But none of that mattered, as 'Hare' constantly reminded him.

"It doesn't matter if what you saw was real or not Draco. The fact is, is that your mind is here, the body you're currently using is here - and right now, you're mother is asking you whether or not you want the main decoration colors to be red or green…I think you should go with both." Draco turned to glared at him in which case Hare just shrugged. "What? I'm thinking of an early Christmas." Draco shook his head and pointed at the green, and before his mother could ask, said "Silver trimmings." Hare looked at him confused.

"Green and silver? Won't that be awfully…sinister looking?" He asked, thinking about it. Draco shrugged.

"I don't care - really…you know…I remember being at school and seeing green and silver constantly." He looked at the other boy who was looking more confused than ever.

"Draco…you've had tutors all your life. What crack have you been smoking?" Draco nodded at Hare's answer.

"I thought so."

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fin chapter-


	13. The Queen

Cinderella

Beaner-Bop

Disclaimer: I'm poor. I work at a McDonald's. I don't own Harry Potter or anything else. Damn.

Chapter Twelve: The Queen

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"What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, I definitely overpaid for my carpet."  
- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers"  
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"Where's Ginny?" Was the first thing out of Mr. Weasley's mouth when he got home and looked around, wondering why his daughter wasn't there to give him his usual hug. The house was frighteningly silent. In response to his question, Carminda walked out of the kitchen and nodded to him.

"I…I can't tell you Mr. Weasley." She said slowly. Arthur wondered for a moment what was wrong with her. "B…but my sister knows. Would you like me to tell her you're here?" Carminda asked him. Mr. Weasley took in her appearance, seeing flour on her face and mitts on her hands, easily showing him that she had just been in the kitchen cooking. He shook his head.

"That's alright, Carminda." He said, "I'll go talk to her myself."

Ginny stepped gingerly onto the rocks. The air around her was humid and was making her clothes stick to her skin and the rocks were extra slippery. There was a waterfall in front of her that the birds had told her to walk into to 'see the queen'. She wondered if they were playing some mean prank but decided it wasn't as though she had all that much to lose so she took in a deep breath and jumped.

Instead of getting soaked and falling to her doom, she was inside a large rock room that was still extremely humid, but also had chests, like the ones in her room, lying about all over the place. To her left was a large mirror that Ginny walked up to and looked at for a moment when a cranky voice made her whip her head around.

"Who the hell are you?" Asked an older woman, looking to be in her 40's or 50's. She glared at Ginny and the girl couldn't help but swallow nervously.

"I-I'm Ginny the-"

"-girl who has no idea who she is? Thinks she belongs here? Thinks this is her home?" The woman asked her. Ginny took this moment to glare back at the woman.

"I'm Ginny, and I came here looking for help to the-"

"-ball. Yeah, yeah. I know." The woman turned and waved her right hand in the air, uninterested and motioning for Ginny to follow her.

"How'd you know?" Ginny asked, slowly beginning to follow the other woman. The woman snorted.

"A little birdy told me." Ginny blushed and looked at her shoes but after a moment looked up to see where it was where they were going.

They were still in a rock cave like area, but now there were chairs, glass tables, and beads all over the place. The woman sat at one and Ginny sat opposite of her. The woman went straight to the matter at hand.

"Why do you want to go to the ball anyway?" She asked. Ginny shrugged.

"My step-mother and step-sisters are going and I just wanted to go to-" The older woman shook her head.

"I wasn't born yesterday, brat, try another one on me." Ginny pursed her lips and glared again at the woman but she kept doing her best at keeping her temper tantrum in, even though she desperately wanted to give into the urge.

"My step mother and sisters want to do some stupid things at the party and I want to stop them from doing it." Ginny bit out. The woman raised an eyebrow for a moment before nodding.

"I can believe that. Now, why should I help you?" Ginny's lips pursed more, she was hurting them horribly but she didn't notice.

"Because you're a nice person with a heart of gold." Ginny spat, while standing up and crossing her arms over her chest. The woman shrugged.

"That might be true but…" The woman smirked at her, "You're hardly that, now are you?" Ginny groaned before turning around.

"I'm sorry for bothering you." She said quietly, "I don't have time for this, if you can't help me than I'll just find another way to get in…Merlin, I can't believe Stephen said you can help me-" The woman sat up straighter and looked at Ginny, who of course couldn't see her because her back was to her.

"Stephen sent you?"

"-I mean honest-Huh? What? Stephen, yeah. He sent me. I'm guessing you two know each other?" Ginny asked the woman. The woman nodded.

"Yes…" Her voice got soft and her eyes got a far away look in them for a moment before coming back to that moment and looking directly at Ginny. "You look like shit." She stated before raising her fingers into the air and snapping them. Ginny felt a breeze go by her and looked down, finding her self in a soft green dress with all sort of different color tones in it, and dabs of brown in some places. She felt a breeze again, this time just in her hair. She felt it being lifted up and styled.

All through this, the woman was watching her silently when her eyes went towards Ginny's feet.

"You can't wear Tennis shoes to a ball but looking at your feet I doubt you're able to wear heels." The woman thought for a moment before once again snapping her fingers. Ginny looked down at her feet to see what the woman had done only to see dark green ballerina shoes on her feet, but not the fully laced type.

"Woah…" Ginny whispered under her breath. "I can't believe this." Ginny said softly. The woman snorted again.

"Don't get close to any of this, I want it all back, and trust me, I will be getting it back." She pointed a finger at Ginny to emphasize her point. The red-haired girl nodded.

"I understand, but still, thank you!" The woman began to walk with her back to the waterfall.

"Just jump through again and you'll be at the tree…and Stephen has your ticket. You better get going." Ginny nodded and grabbed her skirts, running into the waterfall.

Fin chapter


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